Apple made sure Gemini wouldn’t feel quite like Gemini inside Siri

Some new details have surfaced about Apple’s deal with Google, the one that puts Gemini at the core of Apple’s upcoming AI features – including the long-overdue Siri overhaul.

What Apple is really getting from Google

We mentioned just recently that Apple picked Google as its main AI partner for the next long-awaited version of Siri, and now a fresh report (subscription required) fills in more of the blanks.

From what people involved in the project are saying, apparently, Apple has quite a bit of control over how Gemini behaves inside Siri. Apple can ask Google to adjust certain parts of the model, but it can also fine-tune Gemini itself so the answers line up with how Apple wants Siri to sound and behave.

What’s especially interesting is that in the current prototype, you won’t even see Google or Gemini branding in the AI responses. Unlike ChatGPT, which clearly shows it is being used and asks permission before sending data, Gemini inside Siri will work quietly in the background. To the user, it will just feel like Siri got smarter.

Another big change should be how answers are delivered. Instead of throwing links at you when you ask a general question, the new Siri is supposed to give you direct answers – more like what you expect from modern AI assistants.

There’s also a big focus on how Siri reacts to emotional or sensitive situations. For example, if someone tells Siri they feel lonely or stressed, the Gemini-powered version is designed to reply in a more supportive, conversational way, instead of the stiff and generic responses we get today.

On top of that, Siri should finally get better at understanding messy or unclear requests. Rather than saying “I don’t understand,” it will try to interpret what you meant and offer something actually useful.

And of course, Apple should keep everything on its own infrastructure. Gemini will run on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers, which means your data stays inside Apple’s systems and doesn’t go back to Google for training or other purposes. That sounds reassuring on paper, although we still have to see how it will actually work in real life.

WWDC will tell us how real this actually is

This partnership is Apple’s chance to finally deliver on promises it made almost two years ago about a smarter Siri. Of course, I guess, we’ll have to wait until WWDC this summer to see what Apple really has planned – and more importantly, when users will actually get access to it.

OpenAI, on the other hand, seems to be the big loser here. ChatGPT will likely stick around for things like image generation or creative writing, but Apple picking Google as Siri’s main “brain” for everyday questions and knowledge is a tough blow for Sam Altman’s company.

Will people really switch to the new Siri?

Honestly, most of these upgrades sound like what you’d expect from any modern AI assistant in 2026. Nothing here feels truly groundbreaking. It is more about making Gemini feel more Apple-like, which makes sense. Gemini already does a great job with conversations and supports a lot of languages smoothly, and the same goes for ChatGPT.

That is why I still wonder how many people will actually switch to Siri when it finally launches in this new form. If you are into AI assistants, you probably already have Gemini or ChatGPT on your phone, and it already knows how you talk, what you like, and how you ask things. Starting over with Siri might feel like too much effort for some people, myself included.

Right now, Gemini works just fine for me, and I don’t really feel the need to use another assistant on my iPhone. Apple will have to do something genuinely different to pull me in. Of course, if it nails privacy in a way others don’t, that could be a big win for it, but that’s still very much an open question.